Character, I think, is the single most important thing in fiction. You might read a book once for its interesting plot—but not twice. Diana Gabaldon More Quotes by Diana Gabaldon More Quotes From Diana Gabaldon We have nothing now between us, save - respect, perhaps. And I think that respect has maybe room for secrets, but not for lies. Diana Gabaldon secret lying thinking And when my body shall cease, my soul will still be yours, Claire? I swear by my hope of heaven, I will not be parted from you." The wind stirred the leaves of the chestnut trees nearby, and the scents of late summer rose up rich around us; pine and grass and strawberries, sun-warmed stone and cool water, and the sharp, musky smell of his body next to mine. "Nothing is lost, Sassenach; only changed." "That's the first law of thermodynamics," I said, wiping my nose. "No," he said. "That's faith. Diana Gabaldon law summer wind He shook his head, absorbed in one of his feats of memory, those brief periods of scholastic rapture where he lost touch with the world around him, absorbed completely in conjuring up knowledge from all its sources. Diana Gabaldon lost memories world Really rather fascinating, you know,' he confided, and I recognized, with an internal sigh, the song of the scholar, as identifying a sound as the terr-whit! of a thrush. Diana Gabaldon scholar sound song For I had come back, and I dreamed once more in the cool air of the Highlands. And the voice of my dream still echoed through ears and heart, repeated with the sound of Brianna's sleeping breath. "You are mine," it had said. "Mine. And I will not let you go. Diana Gabaldon dream sleep heart Cultural concepts are one of the most fascinating things about historical fiction. Diana Gabaldon about things historical fiction If you're going to have more than one person read your book, they're going to have totally different opinions and responses. No person - no two people - read the same book. Diana Gabaldon your you book people There's not a lot of pictorial evidence from the Highlands, because only the very wealthy had their portraits painted - but there is one well-known painting of the two sons of the Duke of Argyll, wearing tartan. Diana Gabaldon only because painting two When I turned 35, I thought, 'Mozart was dead at 36, so I set the bar: I'm going to start writing a book on my next birthday.' I thought historical fiction would be easiest because I was a university professor and know my way around a library, and it seemed easier to look things up than make them up. Diana Gabaldon look library birthday book It's worth noting that at the time of the American Revolution, no sane person would have given two cents for its success. Diana Gabaldon person revolution success time I don't work in a straight line. I don't write with an outline. I write where I can see things happen, and then things get glued together. Diana Gabaldon things-happen i-can together work I don't plan the books ahead of time. It's not like Harry Potter. I don't work in a straight line. I don't write with an outline. Diana Gabaldon plan ahead work time Every time I'd read about the stone circles, it would describe how they worked as an astronomical observance. For example, some of the circles are oriented so that at the winter solstice, the sun will strike a standing stone. Diana Gabaldon stone sun winter time From the late '70s to the early '90s, I wrote anything anybody would pay me for. This ranged from articles on how to clean a longhorn cow's skull for living-room decoration to manuals on elementary math instruction on the Apple II... to a slew of software reviews and application articles done for the computer press. Diana Gabaldon cow me late done Back in the day, when I was a university professor, I used to teach a class in Human Anatomy and Physiology. This class was popular with the football players, who all took it under the tragic misapprehension that it would be easy. Diana Gabaldon day back easy football Cultural concepts are one of the most fascinating things about historical fiction. There's always a temptation, I think, among some historical writers to shade things toward the modern point of view. You know, they won't show someone doing something that would have been perfectly normal for the time but that is considered reprehensible today. Diana Gabaldon view you time today 'Rob Roy' was a great adaptation. It was a lot better than 'Braveheart.' Diana Gabaldon than better great adaptation I hated 'The Lovely Bones'. I thought her vision of Heaven was amazingly uninspired and very depressing. The book was just tedious. Diana Gabaldon thought vision heaven book If you're writing something that's clearly labelled as an alternative history, of course it's perfectly legitimate to play with known historical characters and events, but less so when you're writing an essentially straight historical fiction. Diana Gabaldon you play writing history At one point, some years ago, a nice gentleman had it in mind to do 'Outlander' the musical. His idea was to start with a CD of what you call a song cycle, with a dozen high points of the projected show. It turned out very well, though we had to stop doing it when the TV show came along. Diana Gabaldon you gentleman mind song
